So the word on the street is that during his first week in office, Barack Obama is going to close Gitmo, the vacation spot for would-be bombers and enemy combatants in the war on terror. This is probably a good thing, I suppose – although there has been no mention as to where we`re going to put the folks currently residing there. My previous suggestion –that they take up temporary housing in Arianna Huffington's posh mansion and other assorted celebrity households - has been ignored. Since many of the prisoners are Muslim – this strikes me as horribly racist.

However, here`s what bugs me about all this. I`ve yet to understand why were closing Gitmo – other than it`s something our media – and the European media especially– desire. From where I`m squatting, it seems Obama isn`t closing the jail to help America, but to help himself by gaining more approval from balding, pudgy columnists at the Guardian. It`s a gesture meant to preserve popularity, not safety. And yeah, I know that McCain also wanted to close Gitmo. But that was for the same reasons - so he had something to say on Letterman that would guarantee applause.

If only our American politicians knew that by feeding the beast called world opinion, it only makes our international critics greedier and our country less powerful. More important, why would we take advice from countries that have been on the decline due to their own hapless ideologies? It`s like taking STD advice from Paris Hilton.

Well, maybe that`s not a bad idea.